AMAR SARAN, J. - (1.) THIS petition has been filed for quashing an F.I.R. dated 31.01.2009 under sections 2/3 of the U.P. Gangsters & Anti Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), Police Station Sadar Bazar, district Saharanpur in Case Crime No. 99 of 2009.
(2.) THE allegations in the F.I.R. were basically that the petitioner belonged to a gang of motorcycle thieves and some F.I.Rs. were lodged against him. It was argued by the learned counsel for the petitioner that three F.I.Rs. were lodged on the same day and that the petitioner could not be considered a member of the gang on that basis. Specifically our attention was drawn to the definition of gang under section 2 (b) of the Act, which reads as follows:- 2 (b) "Gang means a group of persons, who acting either singly or collectively, by violence, or threat or show of violence, or intimidation, or coercion, or otherwise with the object of disturbing public order or of gaining any undue temporal, pecuniary, material or other advantage for himself or any other person, indulge in anti-social activities, namely:
(3.) IT was argued that the indispensable requirement for considering a person to be a member of the gang would be that he should have either singly or collectively have used violence, or threat or show of violence, or intimidation, or coercion, and thus the use of force was essential for constituting a gang, and a member of the said gang could only then be shown to be a gangster. However, we find that apart from the aforesaid requirements as to use or show of violence, the definition of gang also has a supplementary clause of "or otherwise ", for the objective of disturbing public order or of gaining undue temporal, pecuniary, material or other advantage, when the accused engages in anti-social activities, as delineated under sections 2 (b)(i) to (xiv).;